London’s best Lebanese restaurants

Critically-acclaimed chef Mireille Hayek opened Em Sherif in Beirut in 2011, promising nostalgia and elegance in equal measure. The restaurant’s success has led to openings across the Middle East, and the first branch outside of the region opened at Harrods in London in 2021. It isn’t cheap, but the utterly harmonious hummus may be the best you’ll ever eat, and the food in general is exceptionally refined. There is an immaculate attention to detail in each dish, with departure from traditional recipes only emerging in thoughtful twists, like the bright kick of sumac and sweetness of confit onion inside the kibbeh sajiyeh. Flavours are powerful and intense and yet always wonderfully balanced, such as in the enticing smokiness of mouttabal tempered by the marine sweetness of prawns, and the sapid spicing on the fish shawarma, which doesn’t mask the delicate flavour of the seabass. Except for the hummus (worth ordering with masterfully toasted pine nuts on top), the tender whole grilled baby chicken is the star of the show, with a marinade, char, and accompanying sauce of velvety toum that will make you want to go back for more.

Time out tip Save yourself for dessert because the signature rice pudding and ice cream with cotton candy are playful and surprising in equal measure.

Another high-end option that has been open in Knightsbridge since 1998, Ishbilia offers sophisticated cooking, but with a casual atmosphere – expect cheery renditions of the Arabic version of Happy Birthday for big family groups. Everything is precisely prepared with the highest quality ingredients. The supremely satin-y hummus is zingy with fresh lemon, while the arayes pita is evenly layered with delicately peppery and sweetly-spiced meat, and finely-cut herbs and peppers. The attractive spicing of the arayes carries through to the rest of the menu, such as on the gratifyingly moist chicken shawarma, where hints of cumin and fenugreek come through. Ishbilia is also one of the few restaurants in London to offer kibbeh nayeh – a quintessential Lebanese dish of raw lamb compounded with bulgar wheat – where the meat’s smoothness is given pleasing textural depth by the bulgar, but the mellow flavour of lamb is allowed to shine alongside the fruity olive oil, aromatic mint leaves, and slivers of pistachio and almond. 

Time Out tip Check out the £23 dish of the day. On Fridays they serve the lesser-known sayadieh; baked fish, caramelised onion with a warm tahini sauce.

Sohaila is the restaurant arm of Fat Macy’s, a social enterprise using culinary and hospitality training to tackle the homelessness crisis in London, and the brainchild of Meg Doherty and Nathalie Moukarzel, with the restaurant named after Moukarzel’s grandmother. Offering ‘Lebanese-inspired’ small plates and an intriguing selection of natural wines, the exquisitely-designed space is matched by the impeccable seasoning on every dish. Like a classic Lebanese restaurant, the menu offers an array of smaller mezze dishes, with a few larger plates; not too dissimilar from many other natural-wine focused restaurants in the city – hence the theory that small plate culture began with mezze culture. Go to Sohaila to understand how the sharp flavours of Lebanese food are a consummate marriage for juicy,  high-acid natural wines. Begin with friggitelli peppers with za’atar, whose aromatic tones play off each other beautifully, and the airy whipped labneh with rich and smoky chilli butter. As is often the case with Lebanese food, all things lamb are highlights, with clever lamb pine nuts, and sensuous braised lamb shoulder with yogurt bound to bring you great joy.

Time out tip Try something from Mersel Wine, which uses indigenous grapes in the Wadi Qannoubine and Maksar Mersel regions to produce Lebanon’s first natural wines. They are full of energy and soul. 

One of the best restaurants in Park Royal, with a modern, upmarket decor, but prices remaining reasonable. The restaurant feels unique in a number of ways, from the ‘home cooking’ section to creative quirks across the menu. They offer three set menus, expanding in size and lovingly named Fayrouz, Yasmine and Maryouma, referencing famous Lebanese singers and songs. Their expansive, thoughtful breakfast menu, includes a full Lebanese breakfast for two at £35 with assorted Lebanese cheeses and jams as well as fried eggs, balila, and ful. There is a business lunch at just £13.95, offering hummus, falafel, tabouleh, and a chicken shawarma plate with rice and salad. For dinner, start with the falafel, babaganoush and hummus beiruty, which are all excellent, and fateh, which has a real purity of flavour. For mains, try the kabse lahme, a slow cooked lamb shoulder in a deliciously lamb-y sauce, served with rice and adorned with toasted almonds. The mocktails make for refreshing accompaniments, with plentiful options in tamer hindi (tamarind), jellab (date, grape molasses and rosewater), and strawberry leymonada.  

Time out tip They sell products from the south of the country and artisanal producer Em Lina, such as ginger syrup, dried mint, and red vinegar. If shisha is your thing, flavours are as eclectic as frozen mango, Skittles, and ‘purple rain’.

When Tony Kitous was 18, he began working in the food industry, opening his first restaurant on Wigmore Street two years later. While Kitous is of Algerian origin, Comptoir Libanais became the first Lebanese chain in the UK, though nods to his North African heritage were retained with the tagine section of Comptoir’s menu. The restaurant has no doubt helped to popularise an idea of Lebanese food in Britain, while also offering a story of its hybridisation when produced by non-Lebanese Middle Easterns. The South Kensington spot benefits from being located in a delightful pedestrianised square, and it’s a good place to grab a relaxed but quick lunch before a visit to the nearby museums. Focus on the mezze; classic falafel, hummus, babaganoush and feta dip, which is given extra layers of flavour from tangy sliced kar kabis (pickled chillies) and nigella seeds.

Time out tip The drinks menu is expansive and worth exploring, from Lebanese sangria made with Ksara white or red wine, to four variations of lemonade.

This cosy space has been serving up Lebanese fare with a more focused menu than Comptoir Libanais (Yalla Yalla is part of the same group) since 2016. The hospitality of Kitous’ grandmother was the inspiration. The restaurant doesn’t forgo a push on mezze – with spreads for two and one offered for £24.95 and £12.95 respectively. There are some intriguing twists, with dishes such as Palestinian chicken samboussek, which takes the flavours of the classic Palestinian dish ‘msakhan’, a dish of chicken, slow-cooked onion, and zippy sumac, and stuffs them inside a pastry parcel. Elsewhere, there are playful ‘Lebanese burgers’, and an attempt to switch up grilled halloumi, with two separate dishes, the first with marinated figs in rose honey syrup and pistachio, and second with tomatoes, black olives, fresh mint and olive oil. To finish, the mouhalabieh (milk pudding) is given a nutty, flavoursome topping in pistachio, date molasses and tahini. 

Time out tip Wrap platters are available until 5pm. Served with hummus and Lebanese salad, the falafel platter is £11.95, with halloumi, lamb kofta and chicken taouk for £12.50.

This family-run business has been around since 2012 and won multiple awards. Mezze are around the £7 mark and the menu is, for the most part, classic but with some influences indicating the popularisation and modernisation of Lebanese food in London, such as beetroot hummus and tabbouleh with a twist (the addition of pomegranate). Elsewhere, while most sujuk (spicy sausage) come solo, Chamisse serve theirs in a spicy tomato sauce, and the £20.95 Chamisse mixed grill comes with castaleta; lamb cutlets in addition to the more conventional lamb mishwi, kafta mishwi and shish taouk. Grill cooking is a highlight of the mains, and king prawns and sea bass are also great options. They offer a fairly wide range of Arabic desserts, including muhallabieh, kenafa and maamoul. 

Time Out tip The lunchtime deal is available between 12-5pm Mondays to Fridays, and includes hummus, taboulleh and a wrap filled with a range of meat and vegetarian options for just £9.75. This mixed platter with shish taouk and kafta is £12.95.

Al-Waha has been a beloved West London institution for decades, with a relaxed, homely ambiance. Mezze range from £6-9.50, but  three can be ordered for £21.99. Choose from classic options such as hummus, falafel, and tabbouleh, to less familiar dishes like salatate el-rahib (smoked aubergine with peppers, tomatoes, spring onion and garlic) and kalaj, baked bread typically topped with nablusi cheese (here they use halloumi). The restaurant’s most interesting dishes come in a section titled ‘Lebanese specialties’. In addition to kibbeh nayeh, there are two other raw lamb dishes: habra nayeh and kafta nayeh, with the former containing just lamb, and the latter onions and parsley. There is also firri meshwi, an excellent dish of quails singed on the grill, then cut through by a squeeze of lemon and served with a punchy toum. The star main is the kafta yoghurtliyet, with juicy, cinnamon-spiced lamb kebabs in a warm yoghurt sauce. Every meal ends with complementary baklava. 

Time out tip While a light and soothing Beirut lager is a good drink option, Al-Waha’s mark-up on the wine is quite fair, so it is a good place to sample the excellent red wines of Chateau Musar.

Palmyra’s is one of the best neighbourhood Syrian and Lebanese restaurants in the city. The menu offers something for everyone and at a reasonable price, with most mezze around £7, and main courses around £13-15. Must-orders are the excellent makdous, lightly-pickled baby aubergines stuffed with walnut and garlic; the profoundly pomegranate-y chicken livers; and fantastic shawarma, with the chicken spiced with turmeric, ginger and cumin, and the lamb with cinnamon alongside cumin. You can order a plate of both with equally good vermicelli rice, and dill pickles which boast a hint of sweetness.

Time out tip Enjoy the hot beverages menu, which includes teas of anise, thyme, and matteh served in a traditional ceramic cup to be drunk through a connected straw.

Another great neighbourhood joint, in south London’s Tooting Bec, diners can sit upstairs by the kitchen for an easygoing weeknight snack, or in the wooden-walled basement, an extra fun place to sample the buzzing weekend atmosphere. The flavour profile of dishes at Meza lean towards the sharper and punchier end of the spectrum, from lemon-heavy hummus to garlicky moutabal, and chicken liver loaded with pomegranate molasses. Thought has gone into the execution of dishes, such as the serving of the vine leaves warm, and the excellent crunch on the kibbeh, which contrasts with an interior of juicy meat, soft onions, and a pleasing amount of pine nuts. 

Time-out tip If ordering from the mixed grill, opt for the minced options over cubed, for both chicken and lamb.

As you walk down Edgware Road, there are a number of rotating spits of dripping meat that might catch your eye, but it is Cafe Helen that catches your nose, as fumes of expertly spiced chicken and lamb shawarma draw you in. You may also be taken in by its iconic neon red lighting. Simply put, this is the best shawarma wrap on Edgware Road, and no list of Lebanese food in London would be complete without it. Inside the khobez wrap, the components are well-balanced, with slices of charred meat accompanied by vivacious pickled cucumbers, and zestful sauces in shatta (fermented chilli), toum and tahini. 

Time out tip It’s open all night long, so forego your cheap kebab and head here.

One of those restaurants offering food from another part of the Levant, but influenced by the Lebanese kitchen – it calls itself Lebanese and Palestinian – Hiba has two branches in central London, with both offering a slightly different focus. Both are good, but Hiba Express’s offering tends towards the northern part of Palestine – which shares a lot of culinary aspects with bordering Lebanon – and it is also, well… better. While the restaurant is narrow, it is still a comfortable place to have dinner, and dishes are served simply, but with a level of class you wouldn’t expect in a small street food-focused restaurant. The smooth hummus, for instance, lands on the table, and you know it’s going to be good. It strikes that balance of earthy chickpea, tahini luxuriousness, and punchy lemon you want in a Lebanese-style hummus, and the fruity olive oil on top just adds to the experience. They also serve some of the best falafel in London – verdantly packed with herbs and delicately spiced, with the coating the ideal level of crisp. Both these dishes, like all the mezze, are around the £6 mark, and the grilled meat or shawarma plate mains are around £15.

Time Out tip The wraps are just £6.95 to take-away, and both the chicken and lamb shawarma are superb. The former is paired with toum, and the latter with tahini; a sign that balance of flavour is a goal.

Not strictly Lebanese, but with a focus on freshness, herbaceousness, and subtle spicing, the team at Soho’s Berenjak have leaned into Lebanese flavours in their interpretation of Levantine fast food at this outlet in glossy food hall Arcade. There is a focus on using British ingredients, and the main event is the sensational shawarma, which uses a 75% to 25% chicken to lamb ratio, with chicken marinated in turmeric and saffron, a nod to Berenjak’s Persian seasoning. While a shawarma wrap with an unabashedly garlicky toum would give you much joy, the other mezze are excellent, from the fattoush dressed with fig leaf vinegar, and the aptly named ‘Lebanese gunpowder fried potatoes’, which come with labneh, shallot and pimento. 

Time Out tip The shawarma plate comes with khobez bread, but it would be a shame not to add a £3 barbari bread, another signature of Berenjak.

The Maroush name once brought with it a stellar reputation, but as things have improved elsewhere, and the Lebanese fare available has diversified, it has struggled to retain its prestige. Still, Ranoush Juice – a fast food enterprise set up by the Maroush group – is a decent place to grab a quick falafel or shawarma, and the Edgware Road branch has a certain energy that is worth experiencing. Small and large mixed mezze platters offer good value at £9 and £14.50 respectively, and as the name would suggest, it’s worth ordering a fresh juice to go with it.

Time Out tip The lamb shawarma is heavily-spiced, so it’s worth going for a wrap if your preference is for a more piquant version of the dish.

If there’s a Middle Eastern dish you want to find the best version of, chances are it is in Park Royal. Also a catering business that offers a whole lamb stuffed with rice for a mere £300, this bakery offers some of the finest manakeesh flatbreads in London. From the classic za’atar, to the flavoursome lahem bajin with minced lamb, tomato, onion spice and house baharat, and the jibneh, with an akawi cheese that melts like mozzarella, these really are the Lebanese answer to pizza.  

Time Out tip The meat and spinach fatayers (meat pies) freeze well and make for a much more interesting late night snack than potato waffles.

Tamini opened on Fulham Road in 2020, following it up with a second branch in Bloomsbury. The food is quite traditional, but offered in a pleasing minimalist-chic setting. You can buy a bag of kaak (a sesame-encrusted circular bread) to dip in olive oil and spread with labneh – as Lebanese people would traditionally do for their breakfast – or go for a cheap lunch, and have a kaak pre-stuffed with kafta or akawi cheese for £5.95 and £4.95 respectively. They also sell fatayer pastries stuffed with minced lamb or spinach, but the main affair is the manakish, which can be ordered in twelve different ways. The £2.95 za’atar is a house classic and a must-order, while the harhoura – which combines smoky harrisa and red peppper, sweet onion and umami tomato – will appeal to many at £3.95. For meat eaters, the kafta can also be ordered on the manakish, combining ground beef and lamb spiced with the house baharat, with onion and parsley, or the more conventional option of lahm bijeen.

Time Out tip If you simply cannot decide, they offer a choice of 6 or 12 mini bites for £6 or £11, covering most of the manakish menu.  

Across streets and souqs from Damascus to Beirut, booza – probably the world’s oldest ice cream – is served out of cylindrical freezer drums, pounded and stretched just minutes before. When Festok opened in Marylebone in 2017, London was graced with a Lebanese artisanal approach to this ancient tradition. There are so many enticing options that multiple trips will be required; from the typical flavours of rose, pistachio and achta – where the frozen milk is stabilized by mastik (arabic gum) and sahlab (orchid powder) and you can actually taste these flavours – to halva, date, carob, and chocolate. There are also vegan sorbets, coconut booza, or most eye-catchingly, one based on the flavours of meghli, a Levantine rice-based dessert eaten at Christmas, and constructed out of rice milk spiced with aniseed and cinnamon. 

Time Out tip For first timers, the achta is a must, with a subtly floral flavour.

Another jewel of Park Royal, Patchi is quite simply a baklava paradise. There is nowhere else in London with quite the same diversity and quality when it comes to the killer trio of filo, nuts, and sugar. As well as pistachio and cashew baklavas, there are awamat – fried dough drowning in nectar-y syrup, akin to a gulab jamun; a selection of ma’amoul biscuits made with date, walnuts, pistachio or almond, some baklava replacing filo with coconut, and balloria – which stuffs fine and chopped pistachios inside layers of buttery shredded pastry, and covers them with a sprinkling of pistachio dust. There is a full savoury menu of breakfast foods, mezze, and grill items, but it is best to head to Patchi for their spun pastry and sugar syrup knaffeh, and take a mixed box of the delectable sweets home with you. 

Time Out tip If you’re feeling brave and/or very hungry, you could opt for a kaak al knaffeh, which gives knaffeh the sandwich treatment, placing it between a kaak.

A legendary institution since 1986, just off Edgware Road, this is where you can construct the Lebanese dinner party of your dreams. Buy seasonal products like green almonds, baby aubergines for making makdous and courgettes perfect for kousa bil laban – where they’re stuffed with minced meat and pine nuts and served in a yogurt sauce – as well as za’atars from different parts of the Levant, lamb hearts and chicken gizzards. At the deli counter, there are a range of kibbeh and fresh salads, white cheeses, rotisserie chickens, shawarma and fried cauliflower. In recent years, a stone oven has been added, so pizza and manakeesh can also be purchased. 

Time Out tip It might not be Festok or Patchi, but the booza and baklava are up to scratch.

Another option for manakeesh, at similarly good-value prices to Al-Jabal Bakery. The spicing is well-judged on the classic lahim beijin (minced meat) and the zesty spinach with sumac and onion, either of which can be ordered inside packs of fatayer to take away, or on top of a manakeesh. Additionally, there are a range of more original toppings for the manakeesh. 

Time out tip Try keshek (ground wheat soaked in yoghurt), muhammara on your manakeesh, or sujuk with cheese.